The Vagueness of Marx
In all his writings Karl Marx had implied that proletarian revolutions would be inevitable and the proletariat would become the ruling class in every country in the world. Karl Marx based his theory of revolution on Hegelian concepts of the dialectic and also the inevitable curse of human history. He argued that his philosophical and ideological aims were to bring about his version of socialism, subsequently known as communism or Marxism.
According to the philosophical and ideological arguments written by Marx therefore stated that communism would invariably and ultimately be the final outcome of human economic and social development. Marx’s theory of revolution was thus deterministic in its nature, as he argued that the economies and societies of countries had to reach a certain stage of development before the proletariat revolutions could actually take place, without that development societies would lack the required level of philosophical and ideological maturity.
Lenin's Path to Revolution
For Marx the most advanced countries such as Britain, France, and his native Germany would be ready for, and experience their proletarian revolutions before the more backward countries like China, and Tsarist Russia. Marx was aware that his ideas had attracted supporters in Russia such as Lenin yet expected them to wait for their revolution to happen when the time was right.
The writings of Karl Marx had done a great deal to spread the ideological and political concepts of socialism, communism, as well as what became known as Marxism. Indeed Marx had produced copious amounts of analysis concerning the development and the functioning of the capitalist system, particularly in the meticulously researched ‘Das Kapital’, which claim to highlight the weaknesses of the capitalist modes of economic production. Besides as far as Marx was concerned capitalism would sow the seeds of its own destruction just as feudalism had unintentionally led to the emergence of capitalism itself.
It can be plausibly argued that with 'What is to be Done?’ Lenin was able to improve upon Marx’s theory of revolution, and thus his philosophical and ideological concepts. With the writing of 'What is to be Done?’ Lenin gave a greater amount of consideration to the practical steps that were needed to bring about proletarian revolution as soon as possible rather than waiting for decades or even centuries for one to occur once all the predetermined conditions fell into place. Marx’s theory of revolution was for the patient and those that were safe from persecution for their political beliefs; Lenin was neither patient nor felt safe from the Tsarist authorities and secret police.
Revolutionary opportunities had to be taken whenever, or wherever they have arisen or existed as such chances would not last for too long, which would allow for the reactionary forces of capitalism to resist them. Changes in more backward countries were also resisted by the old feudal order, and have the time to take steps to avoid revolutions in the first place. Lenin argued that it did not matter where or when the opportunities for successful proletarian revolutions occurred just as long as the relevant Marxist party was able to take full economic, political, and social control of their own country. One successful proletarian revolution could certainly act as a catalyst for further successful revolutions in other countries. As far as Lenin was concerned the strategies that he put forward were theoretically sound as well as being pragmatic, and equated to giving human history a substantial helping hand.
Lenin did suggest ways to achieve revolution and practical methods for the overthrowing of capitalism to bring about communism ahead of schedule whether it was newly emerging as it was in Tsarist Russia, or more firmly established as it was in Britain, France, and Germany. Lenin decided to write 'What is to be Done?' to suggest ways in which revolutions could be launched rather than just happen as a means to overcome the problems presented by the backwardness of Russia and to explain why the more advanced countries had not experienced proletarian revolutions. Lenin argued that the strategies and tactics he put forward in 'What is to be Done?' were the only effective means of fulfilling Marx’s dreams of achieving successful proletarian revolution and destroying the capitalist system before it enslaved the proletariat forever. Lenin also rejected the peaceful and the constitutional paths to power as preferred by moderate Marxist parties such as the SPD in Germany, and the non-Marxist Labour Party in Britain.
The critics of Lenin argued that the danger of applying the strategies and tactics that Lenin favoured was that they recommended then accelerated the path towards a proletarian revolution without there been any significant numbers of the proletariat being involved in carrying it out. The premature launching of a revolution attempt could indeed be highly detrimental for the long-term prospects of a successful proletarian revolution, as failure could strengthen the forces of repression. There was no need to take excessive risks when all of human history was working towards the final victory of the proletariat in any case.
Bibliography
Eatwell R & Wright A (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies 2nd Edition, Continuum,
London
Harvey R, (2003) Comrades – the rise and fall of World Communism, John Murray, London
Hobsbawm, E (1994) Age of Extremes, the Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991, Michael Joseph, London
James, H (2003) Europe Reborn – A History, 1914 – 2000, Pearson Longman, Harlow
Lenin, (1902) 'What is to be Done?'
Wheen F, (1999) Karl Marx, 4th Estate, London
